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Monday, January 28, 2019 howeenterprise.com

"Summit Hill

Elementary"

Sadly, the naming of the new elementary school has slowed down the excitement of the upcoming grand opening. The shine has not yet been put on the new structure and yet the townsfolk have seemed to already rubbed it off. Not long after it was announced that the school was going to be named "Summit Hill Elementary" a petition was started by Matthew Mariano - a former student of Howe to name it "Steve Simmons Elementary." The petition called for 1,000 signatures and had 527 in the first 24 hours of being open.

The current board has announced clearly in the past that they are not naming buildings after anyone at this time. It's hard to argue with their thought due to feelings that could get hurt among friends. A lot of ISDs form a committee and then approve or disapprove the recommendation. That did not happen here. There was a lot of asking the community for their involvement when it came to pushing the bond vote in order to build the school. But when it came to the name, it wasn't the same and the approach backfired.

People that want the school to be named after Steve Simmons would have to be completely happy with that one tribute. Pandora's Box must not be opened. Their policy is a good one. But there are very very unique and special circumstances for one-time occasions. In our eyes, the only way it could be done is to make it extremely clear that this is a one-time unique situation - petitions be damned. But no one asks Paul Revere. Giddy Up.

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It took three minutes for the Howe ISD School Board to discuss and act upon a name for the new primary school. The result was "Summit Hill Elementary School." Much of the near three minutes was silence as board members seemed to distance themselves from the naming of the new location located near the new Summit Hill development west of US Highway 75.

"I'm going to pass on this one because this is a community and a board decision," Superintendent Kevin Wilson told the board.

Board member Janie Finney made the first request of Summit Hill School with Clint Catching suggesting using the term "Elementary" in the name. Board member Mark Abner asked about putting together a committee which Wilson said was an option, but he stated a determination from the committee would need to be made by the February school board meeting.

Finney then requested that the board go with "Summit Elementary" rather than Summit Hill Elementary which prompted Board President Greg Akins to say open August. that he preferred Summit Hill Elementary due to its location.

Akins then asked the board members whether they wanted to appoint a committee or to go ahead and name the building. After a long pause, board member Brad Anderson made a motion to name it Summit Hill Elementary. Josh Vincent second the motion and the motion went unopposed.

At no time during the discussion was it brought up to name the building after someone. Only Freddy Holcomb and J.W. Hall were present audience members outside of the reporter. None made comments during the discussion which was not open for public discussion.

Those on social media after learning of the name suggested that perhaps more time could have been put into something with such significance.

One member that was present in the audience thought that the school should have at least held discussions to honor former Howe ISD educators and administrators such as Wyline Pool, Arthur Boyle,

Elementary January

Three incumbents and two open seats for upcoming elections

It's that time of year again when those interested in leadership for their community can do so by filing to run for public office. There are two seats open for the school board and two seats open for the city council. Mayor Jeff Stanley's position is also up for re-election. These positions come with hefty perks of listening to complaints all while drawing an income of zero. Running for public office takes a true servant who can dedicate a portion of their time to their community and or children of the community.

The incumbent for the Howe ISD is School Board President Greg Akins who, presumed, will seek his fifth three-year term on the board. Akins has served as president for the past four

terms. With board member Jeff Denham moving out of the district, it leaves his seat open.

The city has the mayor position open with Jeff Stanley seeking another two-year term in office. He has served as Mayor of Howe for nearly 10 years as he was appointed initially in 2009.

Bill French has served a number of years on the city council on two separate occasions starting in the early 1990s.

Former Councilman Jonathan Coleman's move to Odessa has opened up his seat for election.

Elections are held May 4, 2019 at the Howe Community Center at 700 W. Haning St., Howe, TX.